Serving Jersey City, Hudson County & all of New Jersey · Free Consultations · Se Habla Español
Serving Jersey City, Hudson County & all of New Jersey · Free Consultations · Se Habla Español
Heroin and fentanyl are Schedule I and II controlled dangerous substances in New Jersey. Possession is a third-degree crime under N.J.S.A. 2C:35-10(a)(1) (3–5 years). Distribution is third degree under half an ounce, second degree from half an ounce to five ounces, and first degree at five ounces or more under 2C:35-5(b)(1). Strict-liability drug-induced death under 2C:35-9 is a first-degree crime. All are prosecuted at Hudson County Superior Court.
Heroin (Schedule I) and fentanyl (Schedule II) are graded together under 2C:35-5(b)(1): distribution or possession with intent of less than one-half ounce is third degree, one-half to five ounces is second degree, and five ounces or more is first degree with a mandatory parole-ineligibility term. Because fentanyl is potent at tiny doses, a few grams of cut product can trigger the second-degree threshold once the lab weighs the whole mixture rather than the pure drug — New Jersey weighs the mixture. Simple possession of either drug is a third-degree crime under 2C:35-10(a)(1).
Two provisions make these cases uniquely dangerous. 2C:35-9, strict-liability drug-induced death, makes anyone who manufactured or distributed the drug that caused a death guilty of a first-degree crime without any proof of intent or recklessness; Hudson County has used it against friends who shared a bag. And 2C:35-7 and 2C:35-7.1 add school-zone and public-housing enhancements that cover most of Jersey City’s geography. On the other side, the Overdose Prevention Act protects people who call 911 for an overdose from possession charges, and Hudson County Recovery Court exists precisely for defendants whose case stems from addiction.
2C:35-10(a)(1) · third degree
2C:35-5(b)(1) · third degree
Second degree · presumption of prison
First degree · mandatory minimum
2C:35-9 · first degree · no intent required
2C:35-7, 2C:35-7.1 · mandatory parole ineligibility
Counterfeit oxycodone containing fentanyl
21 U.S.C. § 841 · U.S. District Court, Newark
Treatment instead of prison for addiction-driven cases
| Charge | Statute | Grade | Exposure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Possession, any amount | 2C:35-10(a)(1) | Third degree | 3–5 years, $35,000 |
| Distribution, under 1/2 oz | 2C:35-5(b)(1) | Third degree | 3–5 years, $75,000 |
| Distribution, 1/2 oz to 5 oz | 2C:35-5(b)(1) | Second degree | 5–10 years, $150,000 |
| Distribution, 5 oz or more | 2C:35-5(b)(1) | First degree | 10–20 years, $500,000, parole ineligibility 1/3–1/2 |
| Distribution within 1,000 ft of a school | 2C:35-7 | Third degree | 3–5 years, mandatory parole ineligibility |
| Strict-liability drug-induced death | 2C:35-9 | First degree | 10–20 years |
| Leader of a narcotics trafficking network | 2C:35-3 | First degree | Life, 25-year parole ineligibility |
The Hudson County Prosecutor’s narcotics unit charges heroin and fentanyl distribution at the highest supportable degree and seeks detention at the first appearance. Most of these cases begin with surveillance in Greenville, the Heights or along Martin Luther King Drive, a controlled buy, or a car stop on Route 440, and the record of that investigation is where the defense lives: the informant’s reliability, the basis for the stop, the search of the car or apartment, and the lab’s weight calculation. A few grams of fentanyl mixture can move a case across the second-degree line; an independent weight and purity analysis has moved cases back.
For clients whose charge grows out of addiction, we pursue Hudson County Recovery Court from the first appearance. It substitutes treatment and supervision for prison, and graduates can have the conviction expunged. We have seen it change outcomes and lives, and we know how to present the application so the prosecutor does not object.
Any amount. Possession of heroin or fentanyl is a third-degree indictable crime regardless of quantity. Distribution grading starts at third degree for under half an ounce and reaches first degree at five ounces or more.
New Jersey’s strict-liability drug-induced death statute, 2C:35-9, makes distributing a drug that causes a death a first-degree crime — not murder, but with 10–20 years of exposure and no requirement that you intended harm. Causation and whether you ‘distributed’ rather than shared are the primary defenses.
New Jersey’s Overdose Prevention Act protects both the caller and the person overdosing from arrest and prosecution for possession, paraphernalia and being under the influence when 911 is called in good faith. It does not cover distribution charges.
A Superior Court program (formerly Drug Court) offering intensive treatment and supervision instead of prison to defendants whose offense is driven by substance-use disorder. Possession and lower-level distribution charges commonly qualify; violent offenses and large-scale trafficking do not. Graduates can expunge the conviction.
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Ibrahim & Ibrahim Law Firm
910 Bergen Ave, Suite 203
Jersey City, NJ 07306
Directions · a five-minute walk from Journal Square PATH; two blocks from the courthouse complex
